Baby safety greatly improved with two new Standards

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Baby safety greatly improved with two new Standards

Baby safety will be greatly improved with the publication of two new Standards, AS/NZS 2172:2013 Cots for household use – Safety requirements and AS/NZS 8811.1:2013 Methods of testing infant products Method 1: Sleep surfaces – Test for firmness. The revised Standard for baby cots AS/NZS 2172 and the new Standard AS/NZS 8811.1 for testing firmness of sleep surfaces will help improve product safety and reduce the likelihood of death or injury to babies.

AS/NZS 2172:2013 Cots for household use – Safety requirements specifies the safety requirements and test methods for cots. These include material, design, construction, performance, labelling, and marking requirements. Testing for the dropside of the cot and its mechanisms have been revised, with separate tests being undertaken for the dropside strength.

AS/NZS 8811.1:2013 Methods of testing infant products Method 1: Sleep surfaces – Test for firmness, is a world-first. It provides a test method for use by industry and regulators that will minimise the risk of infant asphyxiation by identifying sleep surfaces with less than a specified firmness.

• Research has shown a link between infant mortality and overly-soft sleep surfaces that hinder or obstruct an infant's breathing. AS/NZS 8811.1 presents a test method for evaluating the firmness of surfaces on which an infant might be reasonably expected to fall asleep, on a mattress or other similar horizontal areas, for example, pram, infant cocoon, bassinet, cradle, and others.

• Order AS/NZS 2172:2013 or AS/NZS 8811.1:2013 from www.standards.co.nz or call 0800 782 632 during business hours, or email enquiries@standards.co.nz

ENDS

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